Litigation Release No. 24453 / April 16, 2019
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Quentin Louis Wilcox, Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-02437-SRB (D. Ariz., filed April 16, 2019)
On April 16, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against a former financial manager at Avnet, Inc., a Phoenix-based electronic components and services company.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, alleges that Quentin Louis Wilcox, of Gilbert, Arizona, sold Avnet stock short and bought Avnet put options shortly before the company’s April 27, 2017 press release announcing disappointing sales for third quarter 2017 and guidance for fourth quarter 2017. As a financial manager for budgeting and forecasting, Wilcox allegedly had access to the confidential information in Avnet’s earnings announcement before it became public. Using this confidential information, Wilcox’s trades netted him approximately $55,000 in profits. The SEC’s complaint further alleges that Wilcox knew that he was prohibited from trading on the confidential information before it became public because he had received training in Avnet’s Code of Conduct, which indicated that it was illegal for Avnet employees to trade on material nonpublic information.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Wilcox consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and ordering him to pay disgorgement of $55,154 plus prejudgment interest of $3,744 and a civil penalty of $55,154. The settlement is subject to court approval.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Todd Brilliant, and supervised by Victoria Levin in the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation was handled by Douglas Miller.